Kjel'Kia
Kjel'Kia is a young Cathar who currently works as a freelance smuggler, performing both legal and illegal jobs with general success. However, she still prefers to work with the Republic, not against them, and will downright refuse to aid the Empire. In recent times, she has also developed a fear of Sith, and as such, her aversion to the Empire has grown. She has also been known to be able to handle herself in a fight, being proficient with her pair of blaster pistols. She has led a rather difficult life, from a few years after she was born, up to the present. This has caused her to become depressed often times, but she continues to power through it, hoping things will get better. Although at times she doubts she will make it, she hopes that she will be the better for it. History Parents Kjel's parents both lived as slaves in Imperial Space for most of their lives. They met on Dromund Kaas, with the woman serving as an aid to a Sith Lord, and with the man performing maintenance on the Sith's droids. They would see each other daily, and it was not long before they fell in love. They spent several years pooling all the credits they could find, and were able to buy their own freedom. Managing to smuggle themselves aboard a merchant vessel, they managed to make their way to Nar Shadaa, where they planned to make a better life for themselves. Not long after they settled down into a cheap, run down apartment, the wife became pregnant. They were elated to have a child, someone they could pass their legacy and love on to. Soon, their son was born, and they named him Lor, meaning "Hope" in their tribe's ancient tongue. He became their pride, and their lives. They began to set aside every credit they could spare for his future. They would skip meals, work long hours, and take other risks in order to ensure that he would have enough. Early life However, they were deep in poverty. Though they took every chance they could to make him comfortable, they continued to suffer. In addition, they could not afford quality medication, including Birth Control. Four years later, she became pregnant again, this time giving birth to their daughter. They knew they couldn't afford to take care of both her and Lor. Their credits were spread far too thin as it was. So they named her Kjel, in their tongue meaning "Misfortune". On her fourth birthday, her parents made the decision that Kjel should be sold into slavery. It was not an easy decision, but nor was it as horrible to the parents as one might expect. They themselves had survived slavery, after all. To send her into that life wasn't a death sentence, nor was it a condemnation to that fate, in their minds. Simply a temporary evil that was intended to save their son's future. But Lor didn't understand this, and the eight year old fought and fought for his little sister, cursing his parents and the name he shared with them. But he couldn't stop them, and as he watched his father leave the house with his sister for the last time, he knew that he would never forgive them. Early years in the Club The father didn't travel far, with the buyer being only several blocks down. They entered a popular club in the area, and Kjel got her first glimpse of the place she would spend the next fourteen years of her life living in. The father met with the owner, credits were exchanged, and he kissed his daughter for the last time, leaving the confused child with strange people in a strange place. But she would soon learn that if one intended to survive, they must learn to adapt. For some time, she acted as a server and tended the bar when the owner wasn't around. The job wasn't easy, but she learned to enjoy it. It was safe, and the owner made sure no harm came to her when a fight broke out. In addition, she would clean the club during slow hours, acting as a janitor of sorts many times. It was during this time that she learned how to clean efficiently and thoroughly. Later years in the Club When he deemed her old enough, however, the owner put her to work as her originally intended purpose: a dancer. She would spend the remainder of her time there working this job, finding few comforts. Among these were learning how to repair clothing, how to cook, and generally helping the other girls where she could. Unfortunately, during this time she also developed an addiction to spice, one she would struggle with for some time. This job would affect much of her life, and be a constant struggle for many years. Freedom It would seem, however, that Kjel had inherited some of her parents' drive, as she began saving her credits early on. At age Sixteen, she was able to finally buy her freedom from the owner, and set out to make her own life, away from Nar Shadaa. However, as she quickly realized that she had no money left, she soon ended up working in the club again, but this time, as an employee, rather than slave. Two years later, she had saved enough credits to purchase her own ship, and she quickly set out into the galaxy, seeking a new life, away from what she had known. It was invigorating, but she quickly realized that she didn't know what to do with herself. She began to wander aimlessly, taking on random jobs, often as a dancer, trying to make enough credits to survive. Smuggling She did, however, develop a hand for dangerous and agile maneuvers when at the helm of her ship. This caught the eye of a low-class Hutt on Nal Hutta, and he promtely contacted her, giving her an offer for a low paying job to smuggle some contraband into Republic space. Although it was, in fact, a very small amount of pay for a riskyjob such as that, it seemed a mountain of credits to the young, and impoverished, Cathar. She jumped at the chance, and took on the job, feeling confident that she could do the job with ease. And as it turned out, she did. The goods were delivered to Coruscant with no difficulty, and she returned and collected her pay. This became a trend for Kjel, and she began to take riskier jobs, and better paying, jobs. With each, she rose to the occasion, even if many were a hairsbreadth away from landing her in prison. While never becoming wealthy, she was able to afford herself some niceties, such as a pair of blasters for security, and materials for the clothes she began to design. Equipment Clothing/Armor Kjel usually wears the vest, pants, gloves, and boots that she designed and made for herself two years after beginning her life as a free woman. They were designed to be easy to move in, while tough enough to avoid getting damaged easily. Her most recent work, however, is both her pride and joy, and something that may very well save her life. She spent months meticulously designing and collecting the materials for a set of protective clothing, something she could move freely in, but would also protect her from the increasingly dangerous situations she found herself in. From helmet to armored boots, she designed it to be perfect for protecting her. Weapons Kjel carries two pistols. One is a rapid fire blaster pistol, designed to deliver as many shots as possible with minimal recoil in a short amount of time. Because of this, it's accuracy suffers, making it most efficient at close to medium ranges. Her second pistol is a heavy blaster that deals powerful rounds with higher recoil. It's considerable power and accuracy make it perfect for medium and long range fire, but it's recoil and rate of fire make it less effective at close ranges. Relationships Elysindre This is perhaps the most important person in Kjel's life. She was the senior dancer in the club while Kjel was still serving drinks and cleaning the countertop, as well as her first year of dancing. Ely watched out for the others, trying to make sure they were treated as well as possible. However, after Kjel's first year of dancing, Ely managed to gain her freedom, and left. Kjel never blamed her for it, but part of her still felt abandoned. It became hard for her and the other dancers after Ely left, as there was no one to protect them. However, she was no less excited when she found Ely again, many years later. She became attached to Elysindre, and eventually was considered a sort of ward by Ely. She cares deeply about Ely, as for a while, it seemed like Ely was the only person who really cared about her. Kelvarius Kjel only really knows Kel through Elysindre. However, Kel welcomed her into the family, and was often there to support her and help her. Nonetheless, Kjel still believes that he doesn't have any true goodwill towards her, but only tolerates her for Ely's sake. Nulaa'ulair Brinla Dass Veelind Vledlaad Enias Gohanian Tordrex Jillen Trivia * Kjel, having learned to cook while in slavery with primarily Twi'leks, specializes in Ryloth cuisine. * Kjel spends much of her free time designing different clothing, from armor to casual wear to anything in between. * Kjel doesn't actually know what her name means, as her parents never told her, and she never learned her tribe's dialect of Catharese. * Kjel, while often timid, has a fiery side that is brought out when someone threatens her friends. Major Enias can attest to this, as he suffered several stun bolts to the chest when Kjel thought that he would harm Captain Elysindre.